Leon Turnbull Photography

 

This would likely be my last backpacking trip before Fall (though I may possibly do one more in June). I had this trip on my list for this spring but I did not think I’d get to it. I did not really want to drive back out to Yosemite for a third time this spring (it is not Yosemite actually, it is Emigrant Wilderness which is just before Yosemite but essentially the same amount of driving). However, rain was in the forecast for the weekend. Quite a bit of rain. But for the Yosemite area there was no rain in the forecast or very little anyway so going back to this area seemed like the best bet for the weekend. Yeah right. More on this in part 2.

 

It was Saturday. It was raining on Saturday. What did the forecast say? ZERO PERCENT chance of rain on Saturday. I don’t know about you but to me ZERO means ZERO. Nada. Nothing. Zip. No possibility of any rain whatsoever. If the stupid weather forecasters have any doubts why don’t they say 10 percent. Zero means NOTHING! Anyway, it was not raining very much but I did need to get out my rain jacket. I did bring my rain jacket but I did not bring much else. It was only a 20 percent chance for Sunday after all. Again, more on this in part 2. (it’ll be a good one)

 

There were a lot of cars at the trailhead including one that I was pretty sure belonged to kayakers. Cherry Creek is a popular run for expert kayakers but I thought it was a bit late in the year for them to be doing this run. Well I hoped that no one would be camping down in the canyon where I was going. I suppose it was unlikely because there is no trail and it is very difficult. Still it was possible.

 

After you climb up to the top of the ridge on the trail you need to go off trail down into the canyon. No trail. Very brushy. It was a lot harder than I remembered. I made it down to camp by 2PM. There was no one else down here. Fantastic. I had the entire place to myself right beside the Middle Falls. It is a gorgeous campsite and a very large sandy beach like area to put up my tent. There were very few mosquitoes at this spot. It was perfect!

 

Thankfully it was a cloudy day. It was also still very early. My plan and hope was to go to all four waterfalls today. That way I could sleep in a bit and not have to go to any of them in the morning.

 

When I was last down in this canyon I failed to make it to Cherry Bomb Falls. My planned route turned out to be much too steep and I could not figure out a way to get up above the cliffs at the Middle Falls for the life of me. So what do you do when you fail the first time? Give up! No! The madman does not give up but when it comes to waterfalls he certainly may need multiple attempts before success is found.

 

I had a different route this time and a better one. I was able to make it above the cliffs without much difficulty. Once you get above the Middle Falls the scenery is absolutely outstanding. Wide open granite. It is an easy walk over to the edge where you can look down into the Cherry Bomb gorge.

 

Maybe only kayakers will appreciate this view. Cherry Bomb Falls is not really much of a waterfall. It has a 20 ft. drop at the top and then it continues into a long cascade in a very tight and steep gorge. Of course I knew this beforehand but I still wanted to come here. It was certainly worth it! I really loved this spot and this beautiful cascade. The scenery is incredibly magnificent!

 

Now it was onto the next three waterfalls, the last one being the Middle Falls at my campsite. When I finally got back to my camp I found that I had company. The kayakers had made their appearance. I missed seeing them go over the waterfall as they had already done that and set up their camp. Thankfully they were camping on the other side of the river. I don’t know if they planned to do that anyway or they saw my tent and decided to go on the other side to give me space. Either way I am grateful because they had a large group and if they were camping right beside me they would have been invading my space and been too loud and keeping me awake in the night. I was so glad to have my peace and quiet at my campsite on the beautiful sandy beach. Part 2 is on the way.

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